Speech at International Roma Day Conference - European Parliament

Dear colleagues,

Ladies and gentlemen,

Friends,

It is a great pleasure and honour for me to open today's International Roma Day Conference.

First, I would like to thank Soraya Post for organizing this timely conference; and pay tribute to the Socialists & Democrats Group who, under the leadership Hannes Swoboda, for many years have raised awareness about the dire situation of Roma people in Europe, fought for ending discrimination and worked towards inclusion.

Today around six million Romani people live in the European Union. Romani people are the biggest ethnic minority in Europe - and one of the most marginalized and discriminated.

Many Roma still live on the margins of society. According to the Fundamental Rights Agency one in three Roma is unemployed, one in five has no health insurance, and nine out of ten live below the poverty line. Not even every second Roma child completes primary education. No wonder, when in some places Roma children are sent to a school for mentally disabled children, simply because they are Roma.

I am deeply worried that anti-Roma rhetoric is gaining ground; that populist use Roma as scape-goats and incite hatred, and that violent attacks against Roma are on the rise. We see European citizens insulted, threatened and attacked simply because they are Roma. This is outrageous and we cannot accept it.

For centuries, Roma have been victims of anti-gypsyism, a despicable ideology based on racial superiority, intolerance and hatred. An ideology which led to the murder of more than 500.000 Roma by Nazi Germany. In some countries more than 80 per cent of the Roma population were exterminated. Men, women children, elderly people were brutally killed. The Roma community remember this genocide as Porrajmos.

But the plight the Roma people suffered at the hands of Nazi Germany has not been fully recognized. Remembering hurts, but we must teach our children about the Porrajmos. About how these barbaric acts of evil could happen in one of the most modernized societies of that time.

Dear Raymond Gurême, It is a great privilege to be with you. You who survived the genocide and found the strength to tell your story. So that your memories will become our shared memory. So that those who do not care come to care. So that it will never happen again. I welcome you warmly to the European Parliament.

I am proud that this Parliament will today debate on anti-gypsyism in Europe. Following this debate the European Parliament will adopt a resolution for commemorating the victims of the genocide of the Roma during the Second World War. I fully support such a European Memorial Day of the Genocide of the Roma.

Ladies and gentlemen,

In the past ten years we have made some progress. We have recognized the Roma issue as a European issue which calls for a European solution. Thanks to the EU Framework for national Roma integration strategies every Member State now has a national Roma action plan. A Council Recommendation on Roma integration measures was adopted unanimously.

Funding has been made available in this MFF, also for Roma education projects. But these are but the first steps. The path is still long to achieve Roma integration on the ground.

Clearly, we have to do much more for the inclusion of Roma through education, employment, housing and health care. And if I may add, for me, educating children is the key to break the vicious circle of no education, no job and poverty. So that Roma children can finally reach their true potential and have hope for a better future.

It's shameful that in the 21st century European citizens are still denied fundamental rights, full participation and dignity because they belong to a minority; a minority which has enriched European culture for many centuries. The aim of the conference is to launch the discussion on the EU level on how to deal with anti-gypsyism. As long as racism against Roma is not effectively dealt with, discrimination will persist and social policies will not be as successful as they should be. I thank the S&D group for putting anti-gypsyism on the political agenda.

Thank you for your attention. I wish you a successful conference.